FURY
by DaveRy2004
Summary: When a mysterious youngster named FURY assists the Titans in a battle, it seems as though they may have a new ally. However, the young man holds a terrible connection to a figure the Titans would rather forget.
1. In the Beginning

Okay, just before y'all get the knives out and lay into me, this is the first time I've ever done a fanfic. Ever. I didn't even read other Teen Titans fanfics before I wrote this. Not that I have anything against the other ones – not doubt they're really good – it's just to explain why I may have made a right muck-up during this.

Anyway, read, review and enjoy.

(Note: This story is based on the idea that Robin is Dick Grayson)

TEEN TITANS: FURY, PART ONE 

**CHAPTER ONE**

Neither man moved a muscle, watching the flickering lights with fervent anticipation. Their hands had moulded around their weapons of choice: neither man had moved from their chosen spot for nearly three hours. The tension was building, the two rivals perched, ready to strike the critical blow that would win the titanic struggle once and for all. Suddenly, a light flickered on one of the weapons. The wielder looked down, and smiled. The glowing light read "BOOST." He slammed it with his finger, and watched his adversary's face fall as they watched the flickering lights.

The red car rocketed past on the screen, shot over the finish line, and a message flashed up reading "RACE OVER, CYBORG WINS"

"Booyah!" Cyborg cried out in delight, leaping out of his chair. Beast Boy threw the controller onto the couch in sheer frustration.

"Dude, that race was SO mine!" he cried out, his face a picture of disappointment.

"Three races, three wins. Oh yeah!" Cyborg gloated, on the verge of a victory dance. Beast Boy, on the other hand, nearly had smoke pouring out of his ears.

"How about another race?" Beast Boy challenged. "Winner takes all?"

"You're on!" Cyborg replied, leaping back into the chair.

At the back of the Rec Room, Robin watched the two teenage superheroes, shaking his head sadly. _They've been playing video games all day_, he thought. _Jeez, don't they ever need a break? I mean, they must be like zombies by now!_

He decided to leave them to it; if they wanted to fry their brains, he wasn't about to stop them. He liked video games as well, true, but those two just took it to excess. Every time they got back from a mission, it was always straight back to the big-screen TV. Well, either that or the kitchen for one of their "Breakfast Extravaganzas", which more often than not left the Titans with severe indigestion...and a lot of pots and pans to clean up afterwards. _They never do anything by halves, do they?_

Robin did a quick walk around the Titan Tower, just to check that everything was still...well, where it was last time. Raven was still in her room, probably meditating – so Robin made a note to leave her room well alone. Even now, Raven didn't like being disturbed while meditating. The training rooms and garage were empty, and there were no alerts on the computer, so Robin decided to see where Starfire was.

_Starfire_. No matter how hard he tried, the beautiful alien girl was always firmly embedded in Robin's mind. She was a truly amazing girl, and a great asset to the Titans – but that wasn't the reason. Not by a long shot - the real reason was that, ever since Starfire had joined the Teen Titans, Robin had fallen in love with her. He wasn't really willing to admit it – _That's probably something to do with my teacher_ – but he knew deep down that he viewed her as more than just a friend. He was fairly sure that she felt the same way, but despite how close they were, he just couldn't tell her. It may have just been his pride, or fear, or...whatever. He just didn't know anymore. All he did know was that sooner or later he would **have** to tell her.

He found Starfire sitting on the rocks outside the Titan Tower, staring out at the sea with a look of innocent wonder. Robin couldn't help smiling: despite the fact that she was the same age as him, Starfire still possessed a child-like joy for many normal things. Granted, Earth was very different to Tamaran, but even so her genuine excitement at the new things she had found was truly awe-inspiring.

He walked towards her, hoping he wasn't disturbing her or something. Starfire turned her head, saw Robin and smiled at him. He smiled back, though he felt as though his heart had just done a somersault. He sat down beside her, and looked out at the bay. The water was fairly calm, with only a few waves lapping on the shore. In the distance, the setting sun bathed the city in a warm orange glow. It was the most peaceful scene Robin had come across in a long time.

"It's been pretty quiet today, hasn't it?" Robin remarked. The Titans hadn't been called out all day – a rarity in this line of work.

"Yes," Starfire replied. "It is...puzzling."

"What do you mean?"

"I have been on this planet for a long time now, yet with all the action and excitement in our lives, I have never been able to sit and watch the sunset," Starfire explained.

"I didn't realise," Robin replied. "Would you like me to go?"

"No," Starfire replied. She smiled in slight embarrassment. "Forgive me, my friend. I did not mean to drive you off. I just...never knew how beautiful it was."

Robin smiled. "Yeah, it is pretty spectacular." He paused. "Didn't you ever see a sunset on Tamaran?"

"Yes, but it was never as vibrant as this," Starfire replied. "Earth is very different to Tamaran – there are many more colours and sounds. It was difficult to get used to...but you were there to help, Robin. Without you, I still would not know what a firework or cotton candy is."

"Don't mention it," Robin replied. "I'm just glad I could help you in your new home, Star."

Was this the time to tell her? After all, the others were still inside, and it was fairly private out here. Now was as good a time as ever.

Just as he was about to start, however, his communicator went off. He sighed slightly, and flipped it open.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You might want to come to the Computer Room, Robin," Raven answered. "It looks like he's back."

Robin didn't need to know who "he" was. He grimaced, gave a curt acknowledgment, and walked back to the tower. Starfire, surprised by his change in attitude, followed him.

Striding purposefully into the Computer Room, Robin saw that the other three were looking at footage from the CCTV in the city, along with a map of the city. "What have we got?" he asked.

"A number of shops in the mall were broken into a few minutes ago," Raven explained. "The crooks looked like the robots Slade used when he fought against us."

Robin fought the urge to show his anger. "I thought Terra dealt with him."

Beast Boy closed his eyes sadly. Not much time had passed since Terra's sacrifice, and Robin knew how hard it must be for him. Thoughts of his parents' deaths came flooding back, but he brushed them aside. They had a job to do.

"We only saw his mask sink into the lava," Cyborg replied. "For all we know, it could've been knocked off by a rock."

"Or perhaps it was not Slade we were fighting," Starfire commented.

"Maybe," Cyborg replied. "He did have a knack for building advanced robots. Could have been a decoy he sent to fight us."

"Maybe," Robin answered.

Another alarm flared up on the map. Raven pressed a few buttons, and a readout replaced the camera footage. "It looks like the robots are moving further into the city."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Robin remarked. "Titans, move out!"


	2. First Impression

CHAPTER TWO 

The first thing Beast Boy noticed as the T-Car rocketed into the city centre was just how many robots there were out there. There must have been at least a hundred of the things smashing everything in sight to pieces.

"Just how are we supposed to fight against THAT?!" Beast Boy cried out, pointing at the mass of metal before them with a severely panicked expression.

"The only way we know how," Robin's voice replied through the intercom. He was approaching from the other side on the R-Cycle, with Raven and Starfire in the back of the car.

"Ready?" Cyborg asked.

All three passengers nodded, Beast Boy wondering just what would be best to fight a horde of crazy robots. He was still thinking about this when Cyborg yanked the handbrake lever, and swung the car sideways to a halt. Despite severe nausea, the Titans quickly climbed out of the car, while Robin pulled up alongside them.

"Looks like Slade's been busy over the last few months," Robin remarked, putting his helmet on the R-Cycle.

"What's say we give him some more work to do?" Cyborg replied, his arm turning into the blaster once again.

Robin grinned. "Why not? Titans, go!"

The first, and last that the robot saw of the Teen Titans was when a large green lion leapt towards it, claws extended, roaring in anger. Its head then became detached, and the lion made light work of ripping the robot's body in half.

Elsewhere, Cyborg had blasted two of the robots into the ground and was aiming for his third, while Raven and Starfire unleashed a barrage of energy at a group robbing a jewellery store. Cogs and diamonds fell from the sky soon afterwards.

Robin, meanwhile, was fighting his way through a group of robots that had suddenly moved towards him. He was coping with the situation, but as he kicked one the robots into a trashcan, he couldn't help thinking that these were tougher than Slade's usual creations. The maniac had obviously been working hard on his engineering skills. The other Titans soon discovered this in a very different way:

"What the hell?!" Cyborg cried out as a blaster bolt rebounded off one of the robots and back at him. "When did Slade get energy shields?"

Beast Boy landed in a heap next to him. "The same time he got THAT," he replied, pointing at the large gun one of the robots was holding. Cyborg fired at the robot, but yet again the blast was deflected harmlessly.

"Move!" Beast Boy cried as the robot fired back. The red bolt of energy flew towards them...and was stopped by a wall of black energy. The two heroes turned, and saw Raven hovering above them, her hands pointed at the shield. Starfire flew past her, eyes glowing green with anger.

"You will not hurt my friends!" she shouted at the droid, firing her eye-lasers at the robot...before screaming and ducking as her own blast flew back at her.

"Raven, your assistance please!" Starfire remarked with some calm, before the robot tried to fire at her. Raven dropped the shield in front of Beast Boy and Cyborg, and flew level with the head of the robot.

"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" Raven shouted out, in her usual chant. A street lamp glowed black, flew out of the ground, and smashed the robot downwards into the ground.

"Thank you!" the smiling Starfire shouted, flying off towards another robot.

"No problem," Raven replied.

Back on the ground, Robin hit the wall hard after one of the robots had blocked his kick and thrown him by his foot. Surveying the other Titans, and the new group of robots marching towards them, Robin could see that they were fighting a losing battle.

"Titans, regroup!" Robin ordered, slicing the last droid's head off with a Birdarang. The Titans split off, each pursued by a substantial number of droids. As Robin prepared to fight, he only hoped the others could cope.

As soon as the droids cornered her in an alleyway, Raven knew she was in trouble.

While the others had managed to gather together, and were managing to defeat the robots, Raven had been knocked back by one of the droids, and a number of them had broken off to face her. She was still able to block their blows with her powers, but there was a limit to how far back she could go.

One of the droids swung a blaster at her, but as she deflected the gun another one punched her backwards. She stumbled into a pile of garbage bags, and looked up at the droids crowding around her. Two droids pinned her arms down, and the lead droid pointed a gun at her head. She closed her eyes, and waited for the shot, hoping it would be quick.

The next thing she heard was the sound of metal slicing into metal, followed by an explosion. Raven opened her eyes, and saw that the lead droid now no longer had a head. The droids turned, and saw a young man standing on a balcony above. He was pointing a smoking weapon at the spot where the robot's head bad just been. Realising that the robots were now distracted, Raven slammed the two robots holding her down into each other, and stood up. The unknown man leapt off the balcony, and landed on one of the robots, before standing up and smashing two nearby droids with a staff. Raven picked up two garbage bags with her powers, and flung them at high speed into the cluster of droids. The robots fell to the ground, and the young man planted a bomb on them. He shouted for Raven to move, then dived behind the remaining garbage bags. The explosion incinerated the droids, and the young man quickly stood up.

"Saved by garbage," he commented wryly, before helping Raven up. "Are you okay?"

"Err...I'm fine, thank you," Raven replied quickly, still slightly dazed from the explosion. The other members of the Titans gathered at the entrance of the alley, looking a bit bruised but intact. Starfire, as usual, rushed down the alley to greet her friend with her bone-crushing hug, while the others stared at the young man standing nearby.

"Don't mind me, I was just leaving," he announced, noticing their stares. He took out something which resembled a grappling hook.

"Wait," Robin replied, stepping forward. He surveyed the broken droids. "I think we owe you our thanks. You helped one of our members."

"Just doing a job," the young man replied, firing the grappling hook.

"We would like to know the identity of Raven's helper," Starfire commented, ignoring Raven's glowering look. "What is your name?"

"My name isn't important. She's safe, you're happy, I'm...disgruntled, but my soul's a little cleaner." He fired the grappling hook, but before he could take off, Robin grabbed his arm and pulled him back down, a bemused look on his face.

"I'm going to give you one more chance to cooperate before we consider you an enemy. What's – your – NAME?"

The young man sighed, retracted the grapple, and removed Robin's hand from his arm.

"Fine, you want to know so much, I'll tell you," he replied. "My name's Ben Richardson, or Fury as I'm nicknamed. My parents were killed when I was young, and I was abandoned. I grew up on the streets, until I was caught and sent to an orphanage. When I graduated, I got a job as a mechanic. There. Happy now?"

"Err...why are you nicknamed "Fury"?" Beast Boy asked.

"Because I have a bad temper," Fury replied. "Is this going to turn into 20 Questions, or can I go now?"

"If you're so desperate to leave, fine," Robin replied curtly.

Fury fired the grappling hook, and flew up out of sight.

"Man, that guy had a real BAD attitude," Cyborg commented. "What was that all about? We're the good guys, aren't we?"

"We are," Raven commented. "But is he?"


	3. Preparations

CHAPTER THREE 

The journey back to Titan Tower was fairly quiet. The radio was off, for once, and no one really wanted to speak: while the fight had been brief and in their favour, they knew that Slade had made advances, and that was a definite cause for concern. Cyborg stared at the road ahead, not making a sound; Starfire looked out of the window half-heartedly; even Beast Boy, usually the one who was always talking, simply sat there, quieter than he had ever been. Raven, sitting in the back with Starfire, found herself troubled more by her "rescuer" (if he could be described as that) than the resurrected Slade. This Fury guy had stopped her being killed, yes, but he had to be the most bad-tempered guy she'd ever come across in her life. He was even less of a social-animal than...well, her. And from her point of view, that was no mean feat.

Cyborg drove into the garage without a murmur, and parked alongside the R-Cycle. Robin had just climbed off the bike, and walked up to the door without even looking back. Cyborg undid his seatbelt.

"Well, everybody out," Cyborg announced, his voice near soulless. The Titans clambered out, but Raven still found herself troubled by the alley incident. _Who the hell are you, Fury? And why did you save me?_

Robin was angry. That was the first thing Starfire noticed as the Titans entered the Rec Room. She found this slightly frightening: even during their toughest battles with Slade, she had never seen so much anger in his face. To use an Earth expression, he looked like a volcano ready to erupt. She noticed that her friends all seemed deeply angry about the return of Slade's robots...all except Raven, who seemed distant.

"Man, I can't believe he's back!" Cyborg shouted at no one in particular. "And why the hell didn't my Sonic Cannon work on those droids?"

"It is difficult to understand," Starfire replied, "but we must not become angered by it."

"Well, what else are we supposed to do?" Beast Boy rebuked her. "The most insane person ever to walk on two legs and a freaky mask rises from the dead, and you're saying we SHOULDN'T be ANGRY?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Raven interrupted, her voice loud but calm. "Shouting and screaming will not defeat Slade. We need to work out how he survived, and what to do next."

"First things first," Robin replied. "Why were our weapons so ineffective against those robots? We barely got through that battle, and if our luck had changed even slightly we would have lost."

"Perhaps Slade has acquired new technologies," Starfire commented. "He has a certain ability with high-tech equipment."

"That doesn't really help us, though, does it?" Cyborg replied. "If he keeps finding ways to beat us, then we have NO chance of stopping him. Especially if he's gone in for shielding."

"We need a plan," Robin agreed. "But first, we need to know what we're dealing with. I put one of the deactivated robots in the back of the T-Car. Cy, take a close look at it. Pull it apart wire by wire if you have to. The rest of you, try and find out why they attacked the shops. Maybe there's a pattern...or maybe he needs parts. If nothing comes up, I want you to help Cy find a weakness to these damn droids." His face twisted with anger. "The next time we meet Slade, I wanna show him just how much of a fight we can give him. I don't want his stupid droids getting in the way!"

He stormed away from the table, leaving the Titans slightly shaken. Starfire immediately went after him, while Cy shook his head and headed for the garage. Beast Boy and Raven soon followed.

"Robin?" Starfire knocked on the door for the third time. "Robin, are you in there?"

No answer. Again.

"Robin, I wish to talk to you."

"This isn't a good time, Star," came Robin's muffled reply.

"I was merely concerned about your anger at Slade's return, my friend."

"Concerned? CONCERNED? The guy's insane, Starfire. He treats death as if it's a joke, and thinks that life is just one big game! He's almost as dangerous as the Joker!"

"I am unfamiliar with this "Joker". Is he some form of entertainer?"

"Oh, for the love of...No, Starfire, he is NOT an entertainer. He's a psychotic killer." He sighed. "I don't want to lose my temper with you, Star. Just go for a while."

"If that is what you want, Robin, I will go," Starfire replied. She stepped away from the door, and walked away sadly. On the other side of the door, Robin punched the wall with frustration. Why was the apparent return of Slade bugging him so much? He'd never been like this with any other villain – well, maybe Tony Zucco, but that was different. That was personal. And while Slade may have put his friends in jeopardy, none of them had been killed, so it wasn't a vendetta. Or was it? He remembered Terra, the young girl who had sacrificed herself to stop a catastrophic eruption which would have destroyed the city. If it wasn't for Slade, she probably would still be alive – after all, her current statue-like form could hardly be described as alive anymore. _One day, Terra. One day we will get you out, and make Slade PAY for what he did to you._ When that day would come, he couldn't tell.

He then realised just how rude he'd been to Starfire. This was the girl he was in love with, and he'd mouthed off at her just because she didn't understand who the Joker was. She'd never been to Gotham before, so she would never have encountered him. _Oh boy_, he thought. _I really went and did it this time. Robin, I think you need counselling_. He looked at his wall, and glimpsed the picture of the "Flying Graysons" – his family, with their famous acrobatic displays. Now he was the last one left, and whatever he told himself, he hadn't really got over it. But it wasn't a reason to yell at Starfire. _Well, I'd better go apologise_. He took the picture off the wall, and set off to find the young alien girl.

Since Beast Boy and Raven had found nothing in their search for a pattern, they were down in the garage, watching as Cyborg disassembled one of the disabled robots. It had taken him a good twenty minutes just to slice through the outer armour – no doubt the reason why the new droids had been so much stronger. It wasn't a good sign for the Titans.

"Look at this," Cyborg said, pointing at a section on the droid's arm. "These things have servos twice the size of the old Slade-bots, and their power cells have doubled in wattage..."

"In ENGLISH?" Beast Boy replied, completely lost.

"They're twice as strong, and can fight for twice as long as before," Raven replied with a hint of agitation in her voice.

"Oh, right. That's definitely bad news."

"It gets worse," Cyborg continued. "The components for the robots are all mass-produced, and easily obtainable. If Slade gets hold of an assembly line..."

"...he could build an entire army," Beast Boy finished. _See, I DO have a brain._

"That means there'd be no stopping him," Raven concluded. "The city would fall easily...and maybe the world."

"He couldn't build enough to take the world," Cyborg replied. "But it's still bad odds. And we don't know where he is."

"Or where he'll strike next," Raven added.

There was a brief pause.

"Dude, we're in serious trouble," Beast Boy finished. "How much time do you reckon it'll take him to get what he needs?"

"Not enough time for us to be ready."

The three Titans looked down at the robot, all showing expressions of desperation. Slade had done his homework since they last met...and at this rate, there was no way of stopping him or his robots.

"So what do we do now?" Beast Boy asked, hoping that they could come up with a plan."

"Start praying," Cyborg's reply came.

Starfire was sitting by the shoreline again. It was almost like the time before they had faced the robots – but it seemed like the waves themselves were responding to her anxiety. They crashed onto the shore with increasing ferocity, threatening to knock her off the rocks and drag her into the waters below. The wind was whipping up into a storm, and she knew she would probably have to go back in soon. Still, she was more concerned about her friends than the weather.

She could understand why they were distraught about the battle. Her own starbolts had been ineffective at times, and her eye lasers had nearly roasted her instead of her enemy. The only way they had defeated the robots was by using a barrage of their abilities on each droid. Starfire smiled slightly at the memory of Beast Boy transforming into a dinosaur before stomping a series of droids, before Robin smashed them even more with his bowstaff.

_Robin_. She had never seen him as angry as he had been when they entered the Rec Room. It was...frightening for her to see him like this. Even in the most desperate times, whenever she had seen him he had maintained a level of calmness. Today, he had lost that. Her friend was obviously badly affected by Slade's return.

She did not notice Robin walking up behind her, trying to work out how to word his apology. With all the thoughts going through his head right now – his parents, Starfire, Slade, the robots – he had a nasty feeling he would say something he didn't mean to. Eventually, he just sat down beside her, and decided just to talk normally.

"Hey, Star," he began. "Why are you sitting out here? The weather doesn't look too good."

"I was trying to make sure I did not disturb you, Robin," Starfire explained. "At least, not until you were ready to talk."

"I..." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Starfire. I didn't mean to yell at you like that. It was just..."  
"Slade?"

"In a way, yeah," Robin replied. "To be honest, I was just thinking about what he did to Terra...it just made me lose it." He sighed again, and looked at the picture he had brought from his room.

"I understand, my friend," Starfire replied. She glanced at the picture. "Who are they?"

"My mom and dad," Robin explained. "That's me in the centre. We were an acrobatic team called the 'Flying Graysons'. Trapeze work, basically."

"Their costumes are beautiful," Starfire commented, gazing at the picture in wonderment.

Robin smiled. "We were part of a circus at the time. I grew up there, and we toured all over the place. We'd just come into Gotham for a charity event when..."

Starfire realised what had happened. "I am sorry, Robin. I did not know..."

"It's okay, Star," he replied. "It was a long time ago." He paused. "I still miss them, though. It's a pain that doesn't really go away." He closed his eyes, and lowered his head sadly.

Starfire, filled with pity for her friend, took Robin's hand and held it in her own. Robin looked up at her, and for a moment they simply looked at each other. Starfire blushed slightly, and let go of Robin's hand. She then looked out at the sea again, deep in thought. Robin waited to see what he had to say.

"You have taught me many things about Earth, Robin," Starfire began. "Thanks to you, I now know about fireworks and pizza..." She blushed again. "...and when people are not talking about shovels. You have been a true friend to me, and I thank you for that. There is one thing I am still not sure about, however."

"What's that, Star?"

"On Earth, it seems...difficult for people to express their feelings. About many subjects, I mean, such as art, poetry...love. I have never understood this. Why is this the case?"

_Well, THAT was unexpected._

"I honestly don't know, Star," Robin replied. "I guess it's because they don't want to offend anyone by saying or doing something. Some people can take offence pretty easily."

"But why would someone take offence from you telling them good things?"

"Well...not everyone expects people to say good things about them. In other cases, such as love, I guess it may be that they don't think the other person will feel the same way."

Starfire nodded in understanding. Robin just felt plain awkward talking about this to the girl he loved – so he was slightly relieved when his communicator went off. It was Cyborg on the other end.

"Found anything yet?" Robin asked.

"Not yet," Cyborg replied, "but we're outta time. Slade's bots are on the move again. They're heading for the Wayne Enterprises building"

"Great. Well, we'll just have to give it our best shot. Tell the others to move out, Star and I will join you there.

"Got it," Cyborg replied before cutting the link. Robin closed the communicator, and then looked at Starfire.

"Ready to go?" he asked her.

Starfire smiled, and nodded. She lifted off the ground, took hold of Robin's arms, and carried him through the air into the city.


	4. Darkest Hour

CHAPTER FOUR 

From the outside, the Wayne Enterprises building looked fairly quiet. At least, that was the case before a large green gorilla smashed one of the windows and threw two broken robots onto the street below.

The building had been absolutely crawling with Slade-bots before the Titans arrived. They had been trying to break into the R&D department to steal some sort of fabrication unit. The Titans prevented the unit from being stolen, but now the thieves had changed their objective. They were now intent on killing the Titans. And, as it turned out, they were powerful enough to do it.

After disposing of the droids, Beast Boy rejoined the melee which now dominated the top floor of Wayne Enterprises. Cyborg and Starfire were no longer using their energy blasts, and simply relied on their strength. However, since the robots were heavily armoured, this was proving to be more difficult.

"You know," Cyborg said as he smashed two droids' heads together, "I think now might be the time to consider a retreat."

"What makes you say that?" Robin asked, flinging two Birdarangs at a droid and causing it to collapse, sparks flying.

"Oh, just THAT!" Cyborg shouted, pointing at a large number of droids swarming out of the elevator. Beast Boy turned to see where he was pointing, and instantly changed from a large gorilla to a tiny kitten.

"What shall we do now?" Starfire asked, as the robots advanced towards them.

"Well, we can't use the lift, that's for sure," Raven commented dryly.

"We have to keep fighting," Robin finished. "We can't let them get what they want!"

"Dude, they want to kill us!" Beast Boy shouted.

"That's the point! Titans, keep fighting!"

They did; but the more the fight progressed, the more Robin realised the hopelessness of the situation. Raven was having to use her powers to block robotic arms constantly, while Starfire was starting to fight through a sea of robots. Beast Boy had been knocked onto a lower level, but that was nothing compared to what was happening to Cyborg.

Cyborg had been separated from the others during the fight, and was now having to fend off a large number of robots by himself. He tried his hardest, but without his Sonic Cannon having any effect, it was proving a much tougher battle than he had hoped for. He smashed his fist through one of the robots, and threw it into a following group; but as he did this, another robot got a clear aim for his left arm.

At first, Cyborg felt as though someone had plugged him into the mains line. It was only after looking at his arm that he realised what had happened. What remained of his lower left arm had been blasted clean off its mounting, and the hand was completely gone. He ignored the damage messages going through his systems, and struggled on, trying to fend off the remaining robots. He managed to break through their ranks, and climbed up an emergency staircase to the roof level.

The other Titans soon joined him, having been forced to retreat by the sheer number of opponents they faced. Robin had tried to delay the retreat to the roof as long as he could: he knew from previous experience that there was nowhere to go once they reached the roof level, and that they would be cornered. _Then again_, he thought, _it was either this or being swamped by robots_. As they became surrounded, however, Robin doubted that this was much of an improvement.

"Got a plan?" Beast Boy asked.

"Nope," Robin replied.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Beast Boy finished.

_Well, here goes_. "Titans, GO!"

It was a brave, but brief effort. There were simply too many droids to fight. As Robin was knocked to the ground, he saw Raven unconscious on the ground, next to Beast Boy, who had been struck down while in lion form. Cyborg had disappeared under a sea of droids, and Starfire was being pursued by about twenty droids. Robin, pinned down by two droids himself, could only watch as Starfire was surrounded, trying vainly to blast the antagonists away with her star bolts. Finally, one of the droids fired a metal belt at her, which promptly electrocuted the young Tamaranian.

"STARFIRE!" Robin cried out, helpless as the droids carried the now-unconscious alien onto a nearby craft – presumably the one they had arrived on. Consumed by rage, Robin broke free of the robot's grip, smashed the two droids above him together, and sprinted after the craft. He was barely three metres away from the craft when the robot with the blaster spotted him, and fired a shot at him as he was jumping. Robin felt a searing pain just below his rib cage, and he fell back down onto the roof. Paralysed by the messages of pain travelling through his spine, he could only watch as the craft moved further and further away, until it completely disappeared from his sight.

Cyborg pushed the remains of the droids he was fighting off himself, and limped towards Robin, who could barely stand up himself.

"We...have to go...after..." Robin started weakly.

"It's no good, Robin," Cyborg interrupted. "Slade's got us beaten. We've lost her."

Robin felt completely frozen by these words. He could barely feel Cyborg's hand helping him to stand up, and found himself leaning on the concrete ledge, watching the city while he felt like his heart had turned to stone. Without warning, he cried out in sheer anger and smashed his fist down on the ledge. Ignoring the pain, he lowered his head and tried to come to terms with the fact that he had lost...that he had failed her...

"Come on," Cyborg said, steering Robin from the edge. "We need to return to the Tower."

"Yeah...let's go," Robin replied lifelessly, letting himself be steered towards the roof exit.


	5. Traitor

**CHAPTER FIVE**

After a brief flight, the automated transport craft finally touched down at its destination: a run-down factory on the very edge of the city limits. The robot guards pulled Starfire onto her feet, and pushed her out of the doorway. Two other droids caught the weakened alien, and placed her inside a specially designed prison intended to dampen her alien powers. Slade watched with pleasure as the once-strong Tamaranian was placed in her cell with no resistance, a sign that his latest creations were as effective as their creator had promised they would be. He would have to thank his apprentice later.

He observed as his foe slowly regained consciousness, and enjoyed seeing the look of horror on her face as she realised who she was facing. She struggled against her restraints, but with the cell preventing her using her powers, she found this almost impossible. She was trapped.

"Well, my young opponent," Slade started, "it seems as though the mighty Teen Titans have faltered. You and your 'friends' were no match for my soldiers, nor will they succeed in rescuing you."

"My friends will not abandon me!" Starfire responded adamantly. "They will find me, and then we will show you what we can do!"

"Foolish girl," Slade retorted. "Do you think your friends even have the slightest hope of finding you? You are alone, trapped in a cage designed specifically for you, with no way to contact you. As far as they're concerned, you're out of reach, so why would they try to find you? They'd only fail."

"No!" Starfire cried out, despairing.

"Yes," Slade replied. "You see, these droids are the perfect weapon against your fellow Titans. I had them designed specifically to counter your special abilities, and then had them built en masse so that even if you somehow found a weakness, they would simply overwhelm you. Of course, I couldn't have done it without the help of my new apprentice."

"Apprentice?"

"Yes. I believe you have met already." He reached out into the shadows, and beckoned for a figure to approach. "Step forward, my young apprentice."

The figure stepped into the light, and at once Starfire recognised him.

"Fury?" Starfire started, trying to understand what she was seeing.

"Yes," Slade replied. "You see, Fury has been graced with a most brilliant gift. An IQ of 152, to be exact. But not only does he possess intelligence, but ingenuity. He was able to come up with the perfect solution to your powers, and construct it with remarkable speed. He has been my greatest asset for this scheme."

Fury said nothing; his face was like a mask, with no emotion or anything showing through it. Starfire looked at him with a mixture of despair and fear.

"But that's not all," Slade continued. "He also constructed the very cell you stand in. It did, of course, require some work to create, but the end result was worth it."

Starfire continued to look at Fury, her feelings of betrayal clear in her eyes...yet Fury did nothing at all. He just stood there, watching the scene.

"Ever since Terra's betrayal, I have longed to exact my revenge on the Teen Titans. Now, with these tools at my disposal, I can accomplish that. The Titans are not accustomed to defeat: with a failure this great, they will surely be torn apart."

"No!" Starfire yelled, on the verge of tears.

"Without their peacekeeper, it is only a matter of time. Of course, I suspect Robin will make some foolhardy rescue attempt, but that will only aid me more. With my former apprentice under my command, I will finally have the city in my grasp...and for once, there is nothing you nor your friends can do about it."

One of the robots stepped forward, carrying Starfire's communicator. The robot handed it to Slade, who looked at it briefly before throwing it to Fury.

"Here, young one," he addressed Fury. "Take this; maybe you can find some way to use it to mislead the Titans." He then motioned towards the Tamaranian girl. "Guards, take her away and lock her up down below."

The robots guarding Starfire moved her cage to a lift, and proceeded to take her underground. Starfire constantly looked at Fury, as if willing him to do something with her eyes. But Fury just stood there, immobile, emotionless, and almost as robotic as his creations. The lift descended into the darkness, and for the first time since her capture a tear rolled down Starfire's face.

Out of her sight, Fury looked at the communicator, pocketed it, and walked towards one of the buildings, a determined expression on his face.

Robin felt numb. Mind, body, soul...all numb.

The Titans seemed to have gone into a reclusive state. Cyborg was sitting in the corner of the Rec Room, examining the remains of his lower left arm; Beast Boy sat on the couch, nursing his head and for once not cracking any jokes; even Raven was affected, forgoing her usual meditation and simply sitting there, looking down at the floor. Robin sat right by the window, looking back at the city, trying and failing to get his mind off Starfire. A few hours earlier, he was worried about how to explain his feelings to Star; now he was worried about whether he would ever actually see her again.

Cyborg looked at the remains of his arm, put them to one side, and walked over to where Robin sat.

"Don't worry, man," he said. "We'll get Starfire back. That's a promise."

"How?" Robin replied.

"We'll find a way," Raven replied, looking up. "We always do."

"Yeah," Beast Boy remarked, "but usually we're not up against a group of indestructible robots controlled by a maniac!"

"You're not exactly helping, Beast Boy," Cyborg replied, anger starting to seep into his voice.

"Well, what else am I supposed to say?" Beast Boy retorted. "'Don't worry, Robin, we'll come up with some miracle to get her back'? We can't win against them; we tried with five and failed, so what makes you think we'll succeed with four?"

"We have to at least try and do something! It's better than sitting on our butts, feeling sorry for ourselves because we lost!"

"Oh, so getting ourselves blasted, smashed and knocked out is a REAL improvement, is it?" Beast Boy shouted back angrily. "That would help as much as your cannon did!"

"Oh, so now you're trying to blame this on me, are you?" Cyborg shouted back. "Well, I'm sorry, but how am I supposed to break the laws of physics exactly? They have SHIELDS! Man, what is your problem?!"

"It's six foot tall, covered in titanium and standing right in front of me!"

"Oh yeah? Well, you're nothing but a lousy fu..."

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Raven shouted, her eyes burning with anger. Two of the lights glowed black and exploded, causing the sprinkler system to go off. The two boys fell silent, realising just what that conversation really meant.

"Is this it, then?" Beast Boy asked with concern. "Are we going to fall apart because we lost a member?"

"It sure as hell looks that way," Cyborg said quietly, picking up his broken arm. He looked at Robin. "What do you think?"

"I need some air," Robin replied, his voice still lifeless. He walked past the other Titans and out of the Rec Room. For a moment there was silence. Then, finally, Cyborg spoke up.

"Come on, guys. We've survived worse than this; there's gotta be SOME way to defeat these guys. We just need to find it. Beast Boy, Raven, do you want to take another look at that one we captured?"

"Yeah," Beast Boy replied with little energy. "Let's go."

For the fifth time, Starfire tried to rip the chains around her wrists and ankles out of the wall. She would not let herself become some toy for Slade to play around with – not after all that had happened.

However, yet again she found that she could not summon her alien strength to break the chains. She looked at Fury, who was guarding her cell, and realised that he had obviously taken a lot of time making sure that the cell worked. _That must be pleasing for him_, she thought bitterly.

"You can't escape from the cell, Starfire, so don't bother," Fury remarked after the Tamaranian had finished struggling against the chains.

"I will not allow you and Slade to do anything to me," she replied defiantly. "You are a traitor to the city!"

"You think I don't know that?" Fury retorted. "You think that I actually enjoy this?"

"Then why do you not act to stop this?" Starfire questioned him.

"Because there's nothing I can do," Fury replied. "Not yet."

Before Starfire could reply, the door to the prison opened, and Slade stepped in. Starfire did not look up: she would not give him the pleasure of seeing the distress in her eyes. He walked up to the cell, and looked at the young alien.

"So," Slade started, "you are trapped, helpless, completely out of reach of your friends...and still you do not acknowledge defeat. What do you possibly have to hold out for?"

"More than you would know," Starfire replied. "My friends will not abandon me. I know they will come and find me."

"Your friends, my dear, do not even know where you are. Indeed, I do not believe they will even be able to do anything: defeat is something hard to take for a group of superheroes. They may even have considered breaking up the Titans..."

"No!" Starfire cried out. "They would never do that!"

"Maybe not while you were around to maintain the peace," Slade continued. "But without your apparent 'good aura', how long do you think it will be before they are at each other's throats?"

Starfire, though she did not want to admit it, realised there was some truth to what Slade was hinting at. She had heard the others arguing before, and it had led to instances where the group was close to breakdown. She looked down at the ground, and realised that she was almost completely helpless.


	6. Double Cross

CHAPTER SIX 

Robin was finding it increasingly difficult to keep Starfire out of his mind. He was trying everything he could think of, even leaving Jump City and going up into the hills to think, but nothing worked. His mind was still firmly fixed on the Tamaranian girl who at this rate he wasn't going to see anytime soon.

_Why didn't I tell her?_ Robin thought. _Why did I keep stalling and coming up with excuses? Would it really have hurt so much to say how I felt?_

He then realised that he hadn't told her because he had been afraid. Afraid of rejection, afraid of making a fool of himself, afraid of losing a friend...for someone who was supposed to face fear and danger every day, this seemed pretty strange. Worst of all, it made him feel weak.

Robin looked back at the city. Starfire _had_ to be there somewhere. She couldn't have just vanished – he wasn't prepared to accept that the girl he loved had disappeared completely. He was going to find her, whatever happened...but without any clues about where to start, he was starting to feel like his good intentions were becoming hopeless.

Slade had only just left when Fury decided what to do. Making sure that Slade was actually gone, and not likely to come back in the new few seconds, he pressed a button on one of the devices on his arm. The security cameras suddenly went offline, and Fury activated the transmitter on Starfire's communicator. He only hoped the Titans would pick it up. He then started knocking on the glass, trying to get Starfire's attention.

Starfire looked up, and was surprised to see Fury trying to get her attention. At first she thought he was taunting her, but when she saw the expression of concern on his face, she realised this was not the case?

"What do you want?" Starfire asked bitterly.

"I've only got about two minutes to explain this, so just be quiet and listen, OK?" Fury replied sharply. Starfire nodded.

"About two months ago I tried to steal some high-tech equipment from Slade's hideout. He caught me, and gave me a choice: help him, or suffer a very slow death. Not much of a choice, really. Anyway, he wanted me to build heavily armoured robots which could defend themselves against certain features. I wasn't sure what for...until I heard him muttering the words "Teen Titans". I then realised what he intended to do. He didn't just want to defeat you – he wanted to destroy you.

"I realised that if I tried to destroy the robots, he would kill me and use them anyway. So I incorporated a failsafe device. All the droids are linked into one transmitter in the centre of the hideout: if I input the proper code into the transmitter, all the robots will shut down. Unfortunately, I only have half of the code: Slade has the other half. That's why I had to wait.

"Once Slade comes back, I'll disable him and take the code – he has it written down somewhere on him. I'll shut down the transmitter, and let you go. Do you understand?"

Starfire nodded, though she didn't believe a word of it. Fury had already betrayed the Titans by building these robots – what was to say that he wouldn't betray them again? Before she could pose this point to him, however, Slade opened the door and entered the prison again. She would have to see if Fury was true to his word.

As it happened, Robin was considering returning to the Tower when his communicator went off. It was Beast Boy.

"We're picking up Starfire's signal," the changeling explained.

"What?! Where?"

"An old factory on the outskirts of the city. We're on our way there: you gonna help us?"

Robin smiled. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Thanks, Beast Boy. Robin out."

He flicked the communicator closed, and scrambled back down the hill to the R-Cycle.

"What happened?" Slade demanded.

"There was a power surge that knocked out the monitoring systems," Fury lied. "I've kept an eye on the prisoner, though."

"Really?" Slade replied, unconvinced. "How convenient. The cameras go offline just after I leave and switch on just before I return. Don't you find that amusing, Fury?"

"Not really," Fury replied.

"Of course not," Slade replied. "You did it, after all."  
Before Fury could react, Slade grabbed his arm and examined the device that knocked out the cameras.

"Very clever. Were you planning to knock out the entire system to let your friend escape?"

Fury did not reply.

"Not feeling talkative, are we?" Slade remarked. "Well, then, perhaps this will motivate you."

He twisted Fury's arm behind his back, pulled it up, and then kicked the young man to the ground. Slade then stepped on his arm, and turned Fury's head to face him.

"Insolent brat," he rebuked him. "I give you technology beyond your imagination, I give you all my knowledge, I give you the promise of infinite power...and STILL you find reason to betray me." He pushed Fury's head into the floor. "WHY?"

"Because you talk too much," Fury replied defiantly.

Slade picked up the young man, and pinned him against the nearest wall by his neck.

"Very amusing. But your humour will not save you, Fury." He withdrew a small syringe, and moved it towards Fury's neck. "Perhaps this will make you more grateful for my gifts."

However, Slade had forgotten to pay attention to Fury's arms. Fury had managed to move his left hand to his right wrist, and pressed a button on the utility device. A small taser attachment extended out of the device, and charged up.

"Not a chance," Fury replied angrily, before ramming the taser into Slade's abdomen. Slade cried out as the current flowed into his body, before releasing Fury and collapsing onto the floor. Fury retracted the taser, retrieved the code he needed from Slade, and looked down at the psycho with pure hatred. He then ran to the cell control panel, and opened Starfire's cell. Picking up the key from Slade, he started undoing the chains.

"We haven't got much time," Fury spoke as he unfastened Starfire's hands. "We have to..."

His speech was cut off abruptly when Starfire's free left hand grabbed Fury's neck and started strangling him.

"I should crush you like an Orvanion klorbrak for what you have done!" Starfire shouted at the young man. Fury made no reply – he could not even if he wanted to, such was Starfire's grip. Instead, he grabbed the communicator from his belt, and held it in front of her face. She gasped, took it from his hands, and let go of his neck. Fury collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Why do you still have this?" Starfire demanded.

"Because I used it to inform your friends where you are. They should have detected the signal by now."

Starfire suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Here was a man who had done his best to help her given his situation, and she'd just tried to strangle him. She helped the young man to stand up.

"Forgive me, Fury," she started. "I was too overwhelmed by my anger that I did not believe your good intentions. I am truly sorry."

"You had every right to be angry," Fury replied. "So will the others, once they find out. But we can deal with apologies later. We have to shut down the droids before your friends get here."

"Why before? Can you not help us defeat them?"

"It's not that simple. Slade started mass-producing the droids; he's probably got at least a hundred by now. He'll have even more when your friends arrive, so we have to make sure they're offline."

Starfire nodded. "Where is this transmitter of failsafe?"

Fury smiled. "That's an interesting way of putting it. It's deeper into the hideout than this. I can lead you there, though."

"Please lead the way," Starfire replied, and the two youngsters set off to disable Slade's army before the Titans walked into impossible odds.


	7. Fallen from Grace

CHAPTER SEVEN 

Robin switched off the ignition, and climbed off the bike. The other Titans hadn't arrived yet – they had a lot more ground to cover – but Robin wasn't worried about that. He was more worried about the place he had arrived at.

It may have been a disused factory once, but at the moment it was anything from empty. The place was swarming with Slade's new robots, and from the look of things Slade was planning a large-scale mission sometime soon. _Well, I hope you like disappointment Slade_, he thought, _because it's not gonna happen._

He heard the T-Car pull up behind him, and waited for the other Titans to arrive.

"Any sign of Star?" Beast Boy asked when he got there.

"Not yet," Robin answered, "but we have another problem."

He pointed at the army of droids, and Beast Boy's face fell. Cyborg and Raven arrived soon afterwards; they were pretty bemused by the site before them as well.

"Well, so much for a quick mission," Raven commented dryly.

"Any ideas how we're supposed to get through there?" Beast Boy asked.

"Well, we can't blast our way through, that's for sure," Cyborg replied. "It'd just be a repeat of what happened back in the city."

"We'll have to try a more stealthy approach, then," Robin decided. "Cyborg, Raven, can you create a diversion?"

Cyborg activated his Sonic Cannon. "We'll do what we can."

"Good. Beast Boy and I will find Starfire as quickly as we can, and then we'll get the hell outta here."

"Sounds simple enough," Beast Boy commented. "Just one thing."

"What?"

"HOW ARE THEY GONNA DISTRACT THREE HUNDRED DROIDS?!"

"Beast Boy's right," Raven added. "We won't be able to stop all of them from coming after you. Once you're inside, you're on your own."

"We'll deal with whatever comes our way," Robin replied. "You just try and stop the bulk of them."

"Got it," Cyborg answered. "Let's go."

"It's just round the next corner," Fury told Starfire as they walked down what must have been the tenth hallway by now. Starfire was starting to get a little agitated: she would have thought that he would put the failsafe somewhere easy to access. _Then again_, she thought, _this may not be a failsafe at all. It may just be some form of decoy._ Then again, Fury wasn't in much of a state to fight, so Starfire doubted he would try and trick her.

They reached the next corner, and sure enough, the transmitter was there. It was an immense tower, covered with antennae and with various cables leading out of it. Starfire paused to look at the massive structure, while Fury walked over to a control console.

"Right, here goes," Fury said, opening the panel. He entered the code, and waited.

Nothing happened.

"Bastard!" Fury exclaimed suddenly.

"Fury? What is wrong?"

"Slade's changed the code!" Fury replied angrily. A few moments later, the base' alarms went off.

"Great," Fury added. "Now the droids are coming after us."

"What shall we do?" Starfire asked.

"I'm gonna try and bypass the code system," Fury answered. "But it's going to take a while. Do you think you can keep the droids out of the way?"

"I shall try," Starfire replied, starbolts forming in her hands.

Fury took a screwdriver off his belt, and removed one of the panels at the base of the machine. A few seconds later, blasts could be heard from down the corridor.

"Fury, they are getting closer!" Starfire commented.

"Yeah," Fury replied, "but what the hell are they shooting at?"

He got his answer a few seconds later. After more shots, Beast Boy and Robin came flying through the doorway. Robin threw two gas grenades into the corridor, while Beast Boy transformed from a lion into his normal form.

"Dude, what are YOU doing here?" Beast Boy asked the alien girl. "We thought you were Slade's prisoner."

"I was assisted in my escape," Starfire replied.

"Who by?" Robin asked, before seeing Fury. However, before his brain made a rational judgement he caught sight of the "S" insignia attached to Fury's uniform.

"He's Slade's apprentice," Robin said quietly, his face starting to contort with anger.

"Robin? What is..."

"You BASTARD!" Robin shouted, lunging at Fury and striking him to the ground. He was about to punch him again when he felt Starfire's hand pulling him back.

"Starfire, let go! He's a traitor!"

"Robin, do not attack him! He released me from my cell after dealing with Slade! He is on our side!"

"Then why did he lead you here?" Robin retorted.

"Because I didn't think you'd be too impressed if your friend was shredded by robots," Fury replied. Robin grabbed him by the front of his uniform and pulled him up.

"Yeah, robots YOU built no doubt?"

"I don't deny that," Fury replied, "but at the moment I'm trying to rectify my mistake, and you're not helping matters by trying to crush me to a pulp!"

Robin held the man at arm's length, his anger still showing on his face. Then, he dropped the man to the ground.

"All right," he finally said, "do what you have to. But I'm watching you."

"Uh, Robin, you may want to watch the door instead," Beast Boy remarked. Robin turned around, and saw the Sladebots charging through the door. He grabbed the bowstaff off his belt, and charged towards them. Starfire followed soon afterwards, using her alien strength to literally punch a hole through the nearest robot, while Beast Boy charged at a group of droids in his rhino form. Fury, meanwhile, was rearranging wires and tapping codes in – but each code he tried failed.

"Hey, you might wanna pick the pace up!" Beast Boy shouted after kicking a robot into the wall.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Fury shouted back.

Robin knocked one of the robots to the ground, stuck his bowstaff into it, and used it to swing round and kick another droid away. The robot smashed into the transmitter a few feet from Fury. The young man glanced at the broken droid, a little alarmed, before trying another code. Again, it didn't work.

"Right, you piece of..." he seethed, throwing a number of charges into the machine. He stood up quickly, and ran towards the Titans.

"RUN!" he shouted, before he did a flying kick on one of the droids to clear his path. Robin started to ask what was wrong, then heard the "beep-beep" noise he knew as an explosive timer.

"Titans, MOVE!" Robin shouted, running for the door. Starfire picked Beast Boy up and carried him over the droids and out of the door...just before the transmitter erupted in a fireball, destroying all the droids in the room. The shockwave threw the four youngsters into the corridor wall, while the rest of the droids went offline. Beast Boy, his shoulder severely bruised, climbed on to his feet and glowered at Fury.

"If you could do that all along, why did we have to fight those things?" he demanded.

"I was trying to be tactful," Fury replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Or perhaps you enjoy flying into walls at speed?"

Beast Boy did not reply. He picked up one of the disabled droids, and looked at the exposed circuitry. "Dude, you really made these things to last, didn't you?"

"I pride myself in my work." He clambered to his feet, and helped Robin and Starfire up. Robin gave Fury a suspicious glance, and then said, "Come on. We'd better go find Raven and Cyborg."

After dusting themselves off, the four teenagers left the corridor to see how Raven and Cyborg had fared in their battle.

As it turned out, Raven and Cyborg had made a pretty good job of holding off the majority of the droids.

The outside of Slade's base was almost enveloped in a sea of droid parts, many of which had been burned or yanked out of their hosts. In the centre, Cyborg and Raven still stood in defensive poses, ready to strike if any of the droids were not quite finished off yet.

"You two okay?" Robin asked as he approached them.

"We had an...interesting time," Raven replied, as Cyborg deactivated his blaster.

"Yeah, you could say that," he added. "Man, I've never seen so many robots in my life. Where did Slade GET all these things?"

"You can ask him that later," Robin replied, pointing at Fury.

"You mean...?"

"Yeah," Fury interrupted. "I built the robots. I'm not proud of it at all, but there we are." He then turned to Robin. "Is that all you have to say, or are you gonna start reading me my rights."

Robin gritted his teeth. "We'll deal with you back at the Tower. In the meantime..."

"I'm afraid you will not be returning home, my young friends," Slade's voice suddenly echoed around the base. The ground opened up in front of them, and a lift carrying a squad of droids rose up in its place. Slade stepped out from a nearby building, and the droids surrounded the six teenagers.

"What the hell?" Cyborg exclaimed.

"I thought you said you disabled the droids!" Robin said menacingly to Fury.

"I did. The transmitter's scrap."

"He is telling the truth, Robin," Slade commented. "I suspected that my apprentice's loyalty was...fragile, so I planned ahead. These droids, my young friends, are tougher than Fury's efforts, so do not think that he can help you against them."

"Why did you lure us here, Slade?" Robin demanded.

"I thought you of all people would have guessed by now, Robin. When Terra turned against me, I was forced to find a new apprentice. Now, I am finally in a position to acquire one."

"Me."

"Exactly, Robin. I sense this is becoming all too predictable for you now, so here's a new variable for you."

Slade pressed a button, and all of the robots pointed blasters at the Titans.

"You have two simple choices here, my young friend," Slade continued. "Either you join me, and forget about your so-called friends, or else you and them will be annihilated. Whatever you choose, I **will** have control of Jump City – it is only a question of whether you will live to see it."

Out of the corner of his eye, Robin noticed Fury removing a handful of explosives from his belt. _So he's on our side after all_, he thought. _Still, I'm not sure how much good he can do with those_.

"I'm not abandoning my friends, Slade," Robin finally replied. "I'd rather die than betray them."

"Very well. It is fortunate, then, that this will be the case," Slade replied. The robots took aim.

"It's been fun, y'all," Cyborg said quietly to the others.

"Well, at least we never split up," Beast Boy commented.

"Don't make your last requests just yet," Fury added.

"I've waited a long time for this moment, Titans," Slade continued. "You have caused me unnecessary trouble far too many times. But since I am not without _some_ respect for you...any last words before your demise?"

"Yeah," Cyborg shouted, "you can kiss my metal-plated..."

"How predictable. Humour will not save you, however. Goodbye, Teen Titans."

Just as the droids started to charge up their blasters, Fury shouted, "GET DOWN!" The others did so, and Fury threw the explosives he was holding into the surrounding droids. Raven, realising Fury's plan, projected a shield around the Titans just before a series of huge explosions ripped through the droids, decimating a fair proportion of the buildings nearby.

After the smoke eventually cleared, Raven dropped the shield. The droids were almost completely obliterated by the explosions – but Slade was not anywhere in sight.

"He's gone," Robin muttered angrily.

"Do not worry, Robin," Starfire replied. "We are victorious; Slade no longer has his armies."

"Dude, you REALLY need to cut down on the explosions," Beast Boy said to Fury.

"Hey, it gets the job done," Fury replied.

Come, friends," Starfire interrupted. "Let us celebrate our victory with a nauseating feast!"

"Let's just get pizza," Raven replied.

"I'm afraid celebrations will have to wait, guys," Robin added. "We have something else to deal with right now." He looked straight at Fury.

"Yeah, I was wondering when this would come up," Fury replied. "Do I get a chance to explain, or are you just gonna handcuff me and hand me over to the cops?"

"We'll hear it from Starfire when we get back," Robin replied. "However, until we know what's going on, I'm afraid you'll have to come with us back to the Tower." He paused. "I'm sorry.

Fury looked at Robin. "I'm sorry too."

Cyborg led Fury to the T-Car, while Starfire and Beast Boy followed. Raven waited, and then turned to face Robin.

"Do you think we can trust him?" she asked.

"I don't know," Robin answered. "I really want to say yes, but considering all he's done, I'm not sure what we can do for him."

"We'll have to discuss it back at the Tower," Raven concluded.

Robin nodded. "I'll meet you and the others there."

Raven nodded, and walked towards the T-Car. Robin walked back towards his cycle, and pulled the helmet on. As he started it up, and watched the T-Car pull away and return home, he couldn't help wondering whether the young man really cared about what had happened to him. Not just the Slade bit; he wondered whether he really wanted to go to prison anyway.


	8. Redemption

CHAPTER EIGHT 

"What are we gonna do then?" Beast Boy asked the other Titans. The group had been sitting in the Rec Room, discussing what Starfire had told them about Fury, but even after ten minutes they hadn't reached a decision.

"I don't know," Robin replied. "I mean, even if Fury is telling the truth, he is still a criminal."

"But on the other hand," Cyborg continued, "he did save us from those robots and helped get Starfire back. Even if he was their creator, he wanted to stop them AND Slade."

"Exactly," Robin replied.

"Is there no way for him to go without us having to punish him?" Starfire asked.

"We have to enforce the law, Star," Robin replied. "Even if it doesn't seem right, it's our job." He paused. "And at the moment, it really doesn't seem right."

"Nevertheless, we have to make a decision," Raven commented. "We cannot let our feelings hinder our judgement in this matter."

"She's right," Cyborg replied sombrely. "We have to do something."

There was a slight pause. The Titans knew that Fury had committed serious crimes – but at the same time, he had destroyed the robots and prevented Slade from launching a large attack on the city. It was difficult.

"All right," Robin announced. "Let's take a vote."

Fury paced around his designated room for the ninth time, prevented from leaving by a hefty lock on the other side of the door. He had been placed in the room just after his arrival at Titan Tower, and told in no uncertain terms that if he tried to escape, he would be considered an adversary. He had not even attempted to force the door open after that.

He leaned against the wall, trying to make sense of all the events which had occurred in the last few months. A feeling of guilt swept over him, and he felt a chill run through his bones. Why had he done this? Why had he agreed to help Slade? All his life, he had told himself that his life was not that valuable, that he could afford to lose it if it meant doing something right. Now, here he was, having just gone against that principle.

Why? It wasn't as if he was afraid to die; in the last seventeen years of his life, he'd faced death on too many occasions to care about it anymore. _I am just one person_, he thought. _One life, one flame in the sunlight. Who's really going to give a damn if I don't live any longer?_ His family had died a long time ago, the orphanage he had been in long since demolished. For the last five years, he had just gone through his life alone, never staying anywhere for long if he could avoid it. Then he'd arrived at Jump City, and that plan went out of the window. He had found somewhere to live, and had managed to get a job as a mechanic. He was actually starting to build a life for himself – and then for some bravely stupid reason he tried to take some equipment from Slade in the hope of damaging the criminal's arsenal. Were it not for that one incident, he may have actually had a decent chance at gaining something he had never had before.

He felt his anger boiling up inside his veins, and smashed his fist against the nearest wall. For someone who was touted as being highly intelligent, he had a really flawed way of showing it. He had jeopardised the city's safety, put the Titans in mortal peril...and now he was wasting their time by having them debate his fate. As far as he was concerned, there was only one place he was really safe to be anymore.

He heard the lock being disengaged, and watched as the door slid open. Cyborg and Raven stepped in.

"We'd like to talk to you in the Rec Room," Raven informed him.

"Fair enough," Fury replied soullessly. He walked out of the doorway, and followed the two heroes to the Rec Room.

As soon as the door of the Rec Room slid open, Robin realised how tough it was going to be to tell Fury of their decision. None of them had been really sure about the best course of action, but as Raven said, they had to make _some_ kind of decision. But was this the right one?

Fury stood before them silently, as if waiting for a final judgement in as courtroom. Robin took a deep breath, and began to speak.

"Well, Fury, we've come to a decision. However, if you want to say anything before I inform you of it, now's the time."

"Well, there is one thing I need to tell you about," Fury replied.

"Go ahead."

"I know that this hasn't exactly been an easy decision for you to make," Fury began. "From the amount of time it took, and the fact that you all seem to be on the verge of depression, I understand what this must have been like for you. However, I feel that your time may have been wasted."

He ignored their surprised expressions, and continued.

"Having considered what I have done – how I put your lives and the lives of everyone in this city in danger – I feel that there is only one course of action that can be taken. Therefore, I must inform you that as soon as I leave this tower I will be placed under arrest by the Jump City Police Department."

Whatever the Titans had expected him to say, this obviously wasn't it. They looked almost dumbstruck as he said this, but he continued nonetheless.

"Once I am in custody, I will face trial in the city and be punished to the fullest extent of the law for my crimes. I am sorry that it has come to this, but my actions are inexcusable no matter how much I may have done to redeem myself. In my eyes, if no one else's, it will never be enough."

"Fury..." Beast Boy began, being the only one able to speak.

"Don't argue with me, please," Fury interrupted. "Think about what I've done – or rather what my creations did. I cannot evade the law any longer. I'm sorry to have wasted your time."

He then turned around, and walked straight out of the Rec Room. For a moment, no one was able to say anything. Then, finally, Cyborg spoke up.

"He never even asked what we felt about it," he commented.

"I don't think it mattered to him," Raven replied.

"But it matters to us," Starfire added.

"I know," Robin replied. "Besides, he's hiding something from us. I KNOW it."

"Uh, it may be a bit too late to find out what it is, though," Beast Boy added, looking out of the window. Fury had just been handcuffed by two police officers, and was being placed inside the cell on the police boat. The boat powered up its engines, and sped off towards the city harbour.

"So what now?" Cyborg asked. Robin looked deep in thought for a few seconds, and then opened his eyes with a look of determination.

"Stay here," he announced to the others, before walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Starfire asked.

"To find out what he's hiding," Robin replied, before heading for the garage.

"I must admit, it's rare for one of you guys to come down here," the officer remarked as he led Robin through the cellblock of the police station.

"Well, this is something I need to do," Robin explained. "I get a feeling there's something he hasn't said which could be important. Could decide whether he's guilty or not."

"You his solicitor now or something?" the officer asked dryly.

"No, just someone who wants to know the truth."

"Can't argue with that." He checked his list. "Yeah, Mr. Richardson is in cell 5. You want a guard with you?"

"No," Robin replied. "If he tries anything, I'll handle it."

"Of course," the officer replied. "You are a superhero after all."

Robin smiled slightly. "Thank you, officer."

The officer nodded, and opened the cell for him. Robin stepped inside, and waited for the door to close behind him. Fury was sitting on his bunk, staring up at the small window of the cell, oblivious to Robin's presence. Robin walked towards him, and leaned against the opposite wall.

"You're hiding something from us, Fury," he began. "I know you are. That's why you were in such a rush to hand yourself over to the authorities."

"Why does it matter to you?" Fury replied bitterly. "I committed a crime, I'm paying the penalty. That's all you really need to worry about."

"What makes you think we were going to hand you in?" Robin remarked.

Fury made no reply. He simply looked back at the window, as if trying to will Robin away by ignoring him. Robin sighed slightly.

"Look, I don't care how severe you think your crimes were. We dealt with something similar a while back – a girl called Terra. Like you, she helped Slade...but like you, she redeemed herself."

"What have I done to deserve redemption?"

"You were willing to put your life in danger to help Star escape," Robin answered. "You also helped us escape from Slade, and crippled his armies in the process. Need I go on?"

Again, Fury made no answer.

"What is it, Fury? Why are you so eager to be locked away? Why do you keep persecuting yourself?"

Fury sighed, and turned away from the window.

"Well, I guess you guys have a right to know," he began. "When I was about two years old, my parents died in a car accident. My grandmother raised me until she died when I was four. I ended up abandoned on the street, and lived there for three years. Eventually, I was spotted by someone and taken to an orphanage. I stayed at the orphanage for five years, finally getting some form of education. It was at that point they realised how much intelligence I had. By the age of 12 I was learning 10th grade material. Then, the orphanage had to close, and I ended up on the street again. I moved from place to place, learning as much as I could, and then wound up here."

"Why did you keep moving?" Robin asked.

"Because I realised I had a devastating weakness," Fury answered. "After a number of fights, I realised that my anger, when it got loose, made me completely lose control. I'm not talking normal rage levels here – this was deadly, and it nearly killed a number of people. I couldn't control it, no matter what I tried. So I left my hometown, and looked for some way to solve it. No matter what I tried, though, it didn't improve.

"Whenever I fight, I try to keep my emotions contained. It's the only way I can keep focused, and I guess it makes me the fighter I am. The only problem is, once the adrenalin starts flowing that becomes very difficult, and if I lose my focus for even a second, it can become unleashed. That's why I wanted to be here – because I can't hurt anyone if I'm locked up."

"Why are you so angry, though?"

"I don't know. It may be genetic, or it may be the events of my life. Whatever it is, it's made it impossible for me to have any kind of life for myself."

"No, it hasn't," Robin replied. "You're just saying that because you've given up on yourself. You think it's impossible; we've done the impossible before. If you want, we can help you do it as well." He then walked to the door, and summoned the guard.

"This man doesn't belong in here anymore," Robin told him.

"What?"

"As a witness to his actions, I can say he is innocent," Robin responded, ignoring Fury's look of surprise in the background. He paused. "You're not going to question my judgement, are you?"

The guard hesitated, and then unlocked the door. "All right, Richardson, you're free to go."

Fury stood up, and walked out of the cell door. Robin followed him, and accompanied him out of the police station.

"Why did you just do that?" Fury asked.

"Because everyone deserves a second chance," Robin answered. "You never even gave yourself the first one."

"That's a hell of a turnaround, considering what you thought of me back at Slade's hideout."

"I was quick to judge. I didn't look past the Slade connection – because I was too angry at the name."

Fury smiled. "Understandable, really. You should have seen what _I _did to the guy."

"I heard," Robin replied, smiling as well. "Just don't try using that in practices."

"What do you mean?"

"The others and I had something to say to you," Robin continued. "I'll let them explain back at the Tower."

"All right," Fury replied. "Just as long as you're no trying to sell me anything."


	9. Revelation

CHAPTER NINE 

As soon as Fury entered the Rec Room, he knew something was up. The rest of the Titans were standing in front of him...and they were _smiling_.

"What's going on?" Fury asked.

"Well," Robin began, "we have a proposition for you. How would you like to join the team?"

Fury did a double take. "You're messing with me, right?"

"Not at all," Cyborg replied. "You seem pretty good in a fight; we could use you."

"Yeah," Beast Boy added. "Besides, you know a lot about Slade now."

"Too much, probably," Fury replied. He paused. "Are you guys sure about this?"

"We would not be asking if we had doubts," Raven replied.

"I know you have your worries, Fury," Robin replied. "But I'm pretty sure we can help you with them. I think you'd make a good addition to our team, and so do the others."

Fury smiled. "I'm honoured you feel that way." His expression became more serious. "But I'm not sure it's the best course of action right now. A lot's changed in these last few months – I think I need to get out of the picture for a while." He looked around at the Titans. "Don't take this personally – it's just the way I think I need to deal with this."

Robin nodded. "Well, if you change your mind, give us a call."

He handed Fury a communicator. Fury looked at it, and it made its customary sound. He grinned slightly.

"Stylised communicators. Nice touch."

"Come on," Robin replied. "I'll show you to the door – this place is a bit difficult to navigate at times."

Robin started to lead Fury out, but as he did so he caught sight of Starfire. She was not her usual self; she had moved away from the others and seemed altogether distant. Robin tried to put it out of his mind: if she wanted to talk about it, she would. He wasn't going to force her to say anything. _Still_, he thought as he reached the elevator, _maybe it's time I take the initiative anyway._

"You're sure about this?" Robin asked Fury as they walked towards the exit of Titan Tower.

Fury smiled. "With all that's happened of late, I need some time to think. But don't worry: if you ever need my help, I'll be back here as soon as I can."

"Isn't that supposed to be 'you'll know where you can find me?'"

"No," Fury replied. "It's probably easiest if I just turn up – I'll probably have heard about whatever it is through the grapevine anyway."

"Uh...huh," Robin replied. "Well, good luck to you out there, Fury."

He extended a hand, and Fury shook it.

"Same to you and the others, Robin," Fury answered. He turned towards the door, and started walking. He then stopped suddenly, turned around, and walked back to face Robin.

"If you don't mind me saying so, Robin, it might be a good idea for you to have a little word with Starfire," he announced.

"Why? What would I talk to her about?"

Fury gave him a slightly cold stare. "You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about."

"Oh, right. That," Robin realised, his heart sinking slightly. "Was it that obvious?"

"I wouldn't have lived to my seventeenth birthday if I wasn't observant," Fury replied. "But as I was saying, now might be a good time – considering how hectic your job is, this may be the most peace you'll have in a long time."

"I'll consider it," Robin replied. He then smiled slightly. "See you around, Fury."

Fury nodded, and walked out of the Titan Tower. Robin watched the man go, then thought about what he had just said. He had nearly lost Starfire to Slade: he didn't want to risk it happening again before he could tell her. He turned around, and headed for Starfire's room.

The door of Starfire's room was open when Robin arrived. She was sitting on her bed, staring out of the window at the city. No smile graced her face as before: her capture by Slade had obviously affected her. As he watched the young alien, Robin wondered whether this was such a good time to tell her how he felt about her. _Then again_, he thought, _I may not get another chance. No time like the present._

He stepped into her room quietly, so as not to disturb her. As he saw more of her face, he realised that she had been crying. He felt a pang of sorrow, and sat down beside her.

"You okay, Star?" he asked.

Starfire nodded, though she did not smile.

"That wasn't very convincing, Starfire. What's wrong? You can tell me."

"Nothing is really wrong, Robin," Starfire replied. "It is just...my imprisonment at the hands of Slade was...unpleasant. He kept gloating about how you and the others had quarrelled...how you would never come and rescue me..."

"Star, we were never going to abandon you," Robin stated. "We're your friends. And even if the others weren't willing to, I would have come after you. I couldn't have lived with myself if I hadn't."

"Robin?" Starfire replied, unsure as to what he was hinting at.

"When I saw Slade capture you – when I saw you being carried away, and there was nothing I could do about it – I felt just as bad as when my parents died. It was as if someone had drained all the joy out of my life. I wasn't prepared to abandon all hope and leave you...not when I hadn't told you how I truly feel."

At these words, Starfire turned and looked Robin in the eye. Her face showed a mixture of anticipation and surprise; Robin figured she could guess what he was about to say. As it turns out, he was right.

"Robin...are you...in love with me?" Starfire asked hesitantly.

Robin found himself unable to speak, a lump forming in his throat. He simply closed his eyes, and nodded.

"Robin..." Starfire started, her voice trailing off for lack of words.

"I know," Robin replied. "I don't expect you to feel the same way about me, Star. It's just..."

"But Robin," Starfire interrupted, smiling slightly, "I do share your feelings."

At this point Robin simply stopped. He certainly hadn't been expecting that. She was his best friend, but he never knew that they had grown that close. _Or maybe I was just ignoring it_.

"You...you do?" Robin finally replied.

Starfire nodded, although she appeared slightly saddened. "I have felt this way for a long time. Almost as long as we have known each other, my friend. But I did not feel it was right to tell you. Your world contains stories of how two people who love each other can still cause each other great pain; I did not want to do that to my best friend. I did not want to lose you, Robin."

It was as if Robin had opened his eyes for the first time in years. He finally understood the offhand remarks Starfire had made, when they were alone, finally realised what the countless interrupted sentences may have ended with. _Okay, maybe not QUITE that, but I'm understanding a lot more now_. He looked at Starfire, and noticed that tears were forming in her green eyes. He wiped them away, and looked right at her.

"Star, I would never walk away," Robin replied. "Whatever happens, I always have been and always will be your friend. That's never going to change. Neither will the way I feel about you now."

He took Starfire's hand in his own, and felt her fingers wrap around his hand.

He could not think of anything else to say, so he moved in closer to her, tracing the line of Starfire's jaw with his free hand. He lifted Starfire's head up to the same level as his, and she moved her face closer to his, closing her eyes. Her lips brushed against his, and they kissed, and at once Robin felt, for the first time since his parents' deaths, truly at peace.

Outside the still-open door, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven watched their friends finally confirming what they had suspected. Raven smiled slightly, Cyborg smiled as well and put a hand on Raven's shoulder...but Beast Boy looked on the verge of tears. Both of them looked at the youngster, puzzled. He looked deeply moved by the scene.

"Dude..." Beast Boy said to Cyborg, wiping his eyes.

"Yeah?" Cyborg replied, still confused.

"...you SO owe me ten bucks," he finished, a wide grin on his face.

"Aw, MAN! I thought you'd have forgotten that by now!"

"You put a wager on Robin and Starfire's relationship?" Raven asked, half surprised and half angered.

"It was just after she joined," Cyborg explained. "Beast Boy was convinced they'd get together, but I wasn't sure." He scowled at Beast Boy. "You know, I wish you'd forget these damn wagers at times!"

"Oh yeah, go Beast Boy!" Beast Boy started his usual dance routine, "you got ten bucks! Go Beast Boy!"

Raven put a hand over his mouth to stop him disturbing the couple. "I'll deal with him," Cyborg announced, picking the green boy up. "Now, where did I put my wallet..."

Raven could hear the two guys bickering as they walked away, Cyborg obviously trying to get out of the wager. Raven shook her head slowly. _Men._ She then turned back to the open doorway. _Well_, Raven mused as she looked at the two lovers, _at least they're not hiding anything anymore_. She walked off in the direction Cyborg and Beast Boy had gone in, to see whether Cyborg would actually pay up.

Meanwhile, Robin pulled back slightly, breaking the kiss. Starfire opened her eyes, and looked at him, concerned.

"What is wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," Robin replied. "It's just...if we're going to make this work, we can't hide anything from each other."

Starfire nodded. "I understand."

"So..." Robin continued, reaching up for his mask, "...I don't need this anymore."

Starfire watched as he removed his trademark mask, for the first time revealing what the rest of his face looked like. He had light blue coloured eyes, and fairly long, black eyebrows. He smiled at her, and she smiled back, her face lighting up. She took the mask from his hands, and placed it beside her. She leaned forward towards Robin, and they kissed once more, letting the feelings they had withheld for so long be released as the sun started to set on Jump City.

FIN


End file.
